The Phenomenon of Moscatel Sparkling Wine in Brazil
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BIO Web of Conferences 12, 03012 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/20191203012 41st World Congress of Vine and Wine The phenomenon of moscatel sparkling wine in Brazil M.V. Araujoa, M.A.C. da Silva, and K.L. Bruch Centre of Studies and Researches in Agribusiness – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonc¸alves, 7712 Porto Alegre, RS Brazil Abstract. This article sought bases and contexts of social representation of sparkling wine muscatel in Brazil. It is a base for more complex studies. A phenomenon of increased sparkling wine consumption in Brazil was perceived, mainly from muscatel sparkling wine, which increased by 417% from 2005 to 2017. Sparkling wine is a product that appeared in France and migrated to other countries after colonization. In Brazil, it has been gaining more and more visibility, be it in music, news, supermarkets, and other social contexts. To understand this phenomenon, we sought the media and cultural databases, i.e. music, online newspapers. In Brazilian music, the sparkling wine is represented as a luxury product, which refers to romance, festivities, celebrations, special moments, seduction, special gifts, social differentiation, among others. In others media, it is perceived as a fresh, light drink, with pleasant sweetness and easiness to drink, and also an option for those who want to start venturing into the world of wine. As an exploratory and developing research, it was possible to lay down a foundation for further investigation about the social representation of sparkling wine in Brazil. 1. Introduction There are still few studies dedicated to understanding wine consumption in Brazil. However, the sector Studying wine culture means to go a long way from the (IBRAVIN) reports a steady growth in sales (Table 1). craftwork production of wine to its modern processes The Brazilian sparkling wine received special attention, of elaboration. Such culture was brought by European since it has been having greater domestic demand in the colonizers’ families to Brazil, mainly through Catholic last few years than its imported competitors. According to rituals [1]. The countries of the Old World exported the Euromonitor (2017), this trend is due to higher prices of wine culture to the regions which came to be known as the imported products, even if they are still occasionally theNewWorldandthe“NewNewWorld”,whichuse consumed. This trend represents a change regarding what different techniques and have developed different habits. had been happening before: Brazilians are increasingly The Old World is represented mainly by the countries of consuming national sparkling wines, mainly for their cost- Western and Southern Europe, with old and traditional benefit ratio. The demand has increased rapidly, even techniques. The New World is made up of countries though Brazilians tend to prefer imported products [4]. colonized by the Old World, such as the United States, However, regarding the formation of taste, one must Chile, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina question what sparkling wine represents in the social and Brazil, which are characterized as innovative and non- relations of its consumers. Products that once represented conservative regions [2]. The “New New World” are some a distinction between classes, now, in a new context, regions that have begun to produce and consume wine represent a genuine consumer preference [5]. However, quite recently, like some Brazilian regions. in order to investigate the influence of sparkling wine Within this concept, new frontiers of production on social relations, it is important to think about the and consumption have been established. In Brazil the relationships themselves, based on contexts, influences of forms of production and consumption are distinguished images and status. from Europe and some of the New World countries. To understand the representation of sparkling wine, it Banks and Overton (2010) present some features of is necessary go beyond the representation of the individual developing countries, which produced only for local and his relation with the object (sparkling wine). One must markets (local elites), and, after adopting new and more understand the collective representation, which makes an modern technologies, have now reoriented to quality and individual belong to a certain society or group [6]. Thus, export markets. The authors show that new forms of considering the sparkling wine as a more elitist product, consumption in these countries also pressure production. we propose to understand how this representation was With the growth of the middle class, the wine market constructed over time. This proposition is based on the developed rapidly, investments have risen and people fact that wine is a distinct drink, a symbol of maturity, migrated between regions and companies. New wine styles which projects different images and representations in are emerging for new consumers. society [7]. Thus, the purpose of this article is to seek some a e-mail: [email protected] bases and contexts of social representations of sparkling c The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). BIO Web of Conferences 12, 03012 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/20191203012 41st World Congress of Vine and Wine Table 1. Evolution of wine commercialization in Brazil. Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Table wine* 215.05 230.05 205.48 212.51 206.00 207.61 165.94 173.70 Fine wine (nat)** 18.37 19.54 18.76 20.11 19.28 19.78 19.22 15.58 Sparkling wine (nat)** 12.58 13.16 14.74 15.91 16.79 18.79 16.85 17.40 Fine wine (imp) 71.01 72.71 74.22 67.95 76.91 77.69 88.39 118.80 Sparkling wine (imp) 4.31 4.92 5.32 4.27 4.32 4.11 3.75 7.07 Total*** 321.32 340.38 318.52 320.75 323.30 327.99 294.15 332.58 *From american grapes and hybrids (vitis labrusca and vitis sp.); **Data of Brazilians wine market is only from Rio Grande do Sul State that represent 90% of Brazilian wine production; ***millions liters. (nat-national; imp-imported) Source: IBRAVIN-SISDECLARA, adapted by authors. muscatel in Brazil, as well as to be a foundation for more complex studies. 166% 1.1. The emergency of sparkling wine Sparkling wine appears in history as a mistake, due to the 158% second natural fermentation that happens inside a bottle (or barrel), which produces carbon dioxide. The sparkling wine is characterized as an extravagant variety of wine, 104% precisely because it is sparkling. It first appears as an expensive product due to production difficulties and its 417% establishment among the French aristocracy, even though it did not come from the Champagne region [8]. The process of double fermentation, bottling and even the success of sparkling wine came first to England, with products from Muscatel National France (Champagne) in 1700s. The United Kingdom is still the largest Champagne market [9]. Imported Total New territories were occupied and dominated in Figure 1. Evolution of sparkling wine commercialization in the process of land appropriation around the world Brazil. Source: authors, adapted from IBRAVIN-SISDECLARA. by the European man, still seen as Europeanization. Homogeneous images and representations between various regions of the world, without excluding individual particularities, have begun to flow [10]. The wine, as volume it is still insignificant. On the other hand, the a cultural object, followed these flows of globalization, consumption of imported sparkling wine increased only from colonization to more recent movements, such as 104%, while national sparkling wine, both conventional decolonization and increased sharing of communication and muscatel, rose 158% in the same period (Fig. 1). and information. In parallel with the increase in wine consumption after In Brazil, the wine cycle has also begun with coloniza- World War II, Brazil experienced an increase in inequality. tion. The first wines and vines arrived there by the hands of However, since 1990, inequality has decreased due to the Portuguese, following the prohibition of manufacturing the increase in per capita income [11]. This phenomenon industries, until the arrival of Italians and Germans. This follows the increase of the Brazilian middle class, which changed the profile of the production to American strains; resulted in an increase of sparkling wine consumption. later, with the wine sector modernization, wines began These changes in drinking habits are also perceived in to be elaborated from Vitis Viniferas grapes (fine wine). other countries, but with different intensity. In Europe, the During this period, wine production gained more national case of beer and wine is seen as a cultural convergence. and international visibility (see [1]). Winemaking then This is also the case in Latin America, although at a arrived at its modern stage in Brazil at the beginning of slower pace, which may be related to the delay in market the 20th century, which also coincides with the beginning opening [12]. In the case of Brazil, the increase in income of sparkling wine elaboration [1]. suggests a change in demand for better quality wines [13], Over time, the culture of wine production and which is also evident in relation to the increase of sparkling consumption has spread to other regions of Brazil. New wine consumption. wineries emerged, and later national products gained A different phenomenon occurs in UK: among visibility, winning prizes and competing over imported the leading countries in imported Champagne, recently ones. These products came to meet the national demand for sparkling Prosecco has been gaining more ground. One price and quality, which can be observed by the increase in of possible reasons is its image as a cheaper alternative to the domestic market for sparkling wines (Table 1).